Ocean Navigator - Ocean Navigator

19 May

Nordhavn rendezvous breaks attendance record

Ocean NavigatorIndustry & Company News, Press release

Dana Point, Calif. – The largest Nordhavn Owners Rendezvous (NOR) ever got underway May 10 at Victoria International Marina on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. A record setting number of Nordhavns and Nordhavn owners gathered for five days of education, camaraderie, food and fun; for many, the rendezvous served as a kick-off to cruising up to Alaska and the northwest Canadian Territories. With 48 Nordhavns packed into the marina, it marked the most Nordhavn yachts ever gathered in the same place, although not all who attended came by boat. In total were owners of 67 Nordhavns representing 16 different models, who…

14 Apr

Atmospheric ridges and troughs

Ocean NavigatorWeather

The formation of ridges and troughs in the atmosphere has important effects on weather at sea. Here is a look at ridge and trough structures and how they can influence surface low pressure zones and precipitation. Distinctive cloud shapes form in the vicinity of the jet stream and are dependent on the extent of both horizontal and vertical mixing of warm, moist air and cold, dry air. The amplitude and width of ridges and troughs directly influence cloud shape and also indicate surface weather feature development. High-amplitude troughs tend to pull large amounts of cold, dry air south into regions…

30 Nov

Seamanship & Navigation, November 2021

Ocean NavigatorNewsletter, Seamanship & Navigation

Stories of repairs at sea always make for fascinating reading. Not the fairly routine substitution of a spare part but rather a failure so horrendous that great ingenuity was called for to get the ship to port. You can learn a lot from these episodes; many yachts have made it safely back to land with jury-rigged masts, usually broken offshore in heavy weather. Miles and Beryl Smeeton lost their masts twice during an attempt to round Cape Horn from the Pacific in a 46-ft ketch, Tzu Hang. They made it back to Chile both times to effect repairs. The first…

10 Nov

Marine Electronics, November 2021

Ocean NavigatorMarine Technology, Uncategorized

A final approach to an anchorage demands precise steering, sometimes requiring you to stand out on the bow to navigate through a difficult passage. While Wi-Fi-based systems connected to GPS or autopilot are available to aid in this task, a stand-alone remote steering system may be simpler to install, easier on the cruising kitty and simpler to control. Unlike most other areas of the marine electronics industry, only a small handful of manufacturers have gone through the trouble of designing a remote steering device that does not interact directly with a chartplotter via Ethernet or wireless connection. Most skippers are…

09 Nov

ON and Seven Seas announce partnership

Ocean NavigatorHome Page Hero, Ocean Voyaging, Web Exclusivecruising, ocean sailing, ocean voyaging, partnership, Seven Seas Cruising Association, SSCA

Ocean Navigator and the Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) are partnering up. ON's great voyaging articles and SSCA's experienced membership make a natural team. The magazine and the cruising association are expanding their collaborative efforts to bering more value to ON readers and SSCA's members. The big announcement right now is that all SSCA members will receive ON digital editions as part of their membership. A great way for SSCA members, who sail the world over, to keep getting ON's useful articles. And further partnership benefits will be announced soon. Here's the official press release: Seven Seas Cruising Association announced…

31 Oct

Wide Open Throttle test

Ocean NavigatorPower Voyaging

A few years ago, I was carrying out a sea trial aboard a single screw trawler that a client of mine was considering for purchase. Part of the process involves running the vessel at full or wide-open throttle, what engine manufacturers often refer to WOT. In the case of this engine model, the manufacturer specified that a WOT test can be performed for 30 minutes without any ill effects. In some cases, there are no limits, in others the duration may be shorter. For professionals and owners alike, preparing a power voyaging boat for a cruise, whether that’s a day…

31 Oct

Bite Worse than the Bark

Ocean NavigatorOcean Voyaging

It was wee o’clock in the morning when we heard the first thump. It’s a seemingly universal passage rule that bad things always choose to happen in the middle of the night. Other such rules include “you’ll have spares for everything but the part that breaks” and “it doesn’t matter which way you head, the squall will also move that direction.” We were six days out from Vanimo, PNG, sailing slowly at four knots on our Privilege 482 cat Perry. Our route took us over the top of the island of New Guinea in mostly light winds. With a total…

31 Oct

Fifty Years of Diesels

Ocean NavigatorEngines and Propulsion

My wife Terrie and I built our first boat, an Ingrid 39 called Nada, in Louisiana, funded by a job in the Gulf of Mexico oilfields. A few years earlier Terrie and I were aboard my brother Chris’ boat — which was equipped with a hard-to-start Thorneycroft engine — when the boat was nearly sunk by a freighter in the English Channel. The image of that freighter bearing down on us, which had given me nightmares for years afterwards, was implanted in my brain. I was determined to have an engine that could be depended upon to start both electrically and…

31 Oct

An unlikely rescue

Ocean NavigatorNav Problems

The following sounds like a fairy tale, but it isn’t. Peter Warner wasn’t happy. He’d cruised more than 2,000 nautical miles from Australia to ask the king of the nation of Tonga for permission and the necessary permits to fish for the highly prized spiny lobster that thrived in those waters. The king had refused his request, and now Warner and his crew, aboard the fishing trawler Just David, were returning home. Passing a small island in an archipelago of 169 islands that make up the nation of Tonga, they passed the small uninhabited island of Ata. Scanning the shore…

28 Oct

Voyaging Tips, October 2021

Ocean NavigatorUncategorized

When you head off on passage you leave behind access to stores, chandleries, and parts delivery; if you didn't bring it with you you're not going to find it at the mythical half-way barge. What you can do is plan ahead and bring repair materials along, including glues, tapes, adhesives and the like. Armed with these you can keep a fair bit of equipment operational. Note that there's little value in having materials without also understanding where and how to use them. Know where systems are located/routed on your boat and know how to use the materials at hand to…